I have to admit that as a person whose political persuasion leans more to the right than the left, I was understandably nervous to watch “American Dad!” After all, it’s known as a television show that skewers right-wing politics by completely mocking it.

Still, I started watching the DVDs of the first season, and I was pleasantly surprised. It wasn’t just funny; it was hysterical. I was actually watching it on a plane and kept disturbing the people around me by laughing too much. Later, during my layover in Atlanta, I watched it in the terminal and continued laughing, looking like some insane homeless man talking to himself in the airport.

The show follows the daily lives of the Smith family. The patriarch of the clan is Stan Smith, a CIA agent whose undying patriotism goes a bit overboard at times. His aloof, yet busty wife Francine supports him but also complains when things get too out of hand. His daughter Hayley is a left-wing activist who is always at her father’s throat. His daughter Steve isn’t much of a man’s man, preferring “The Lord of the Rings” over “The Green Berets.”

However, the gems of the cast are the cartoon equivalents of the wacky next door neighbors living under the Smiths’ roof. First, there’s Klaus a goldfish whose brain was swapped with an East German swimmer. Klaus is horny for Francine and delights in causing pain and misery in the family. (He is German, after all, as he points out in one episode.)

The best character in the show is Roger, an alien escapee from Area 51. Stan brought home to live in the attic after the Roger saved his life. Based on the original center square Paul Lynde, Roger is a gem as the whiney, catty bitch and bringing to life everyone’s sibling nightmares.

Yes, “American Dad!” has its sights set hard on the Bush administration, the Department of Homeland Security and everything Republican. It even goes as far to introduce Karl Rove as a demonic priest who helps Stan get elected as church deacon. The political views of the writers and producers are clear. They’re not pleased with the direction the country is heading, and they’re speaking out against it through this quirky little cartoon.

But that’s okay. They do a great job of it, and they have raised political protest to an art form. By making the characters so extreme, we can all laugh at them. Who doesn’t chuckle when Stan freaks out because his new neighbors are Iranian, only to find out that Iranians moved into town because their old neighbors were black?

This is an example of the real genius about “American Dad!” While the writing and presentation leans left, it comes back to smack the liberal minded in the head as well. The character of Hayley is an ideologue, and she’s constantly reminded that her side is just as insane, with her pot-smoking boyfriend who lives in a van and her homeless shelter friends who tear a guy to shreds after he keels over just to get his shoes.

In the season finale, the family moves to Saudi Arabia, and all bets are off when it comes to the jokes. Stan hates the Arabs, but he loves the laws making women subservient. Hayley deplores racial profiling and wants to respect the culture, but the subjugation of women and philosophies behind female circumcision make her sick.

In the end, “American Dad!” shows us that the world is a complicated place that isn’t easily fixed with extreme opinions and ideals. But the real key is that the show is so funny, you might rupture something by laughing so hard.

The first season DVD has a boat-load of special features, including commentaries on 12 of the 13 episodes. There’s multiple making-of featurettes, as well as dozens of deleted scenes from throughout the season.



Specifications: Dolby 5.1 Surround Sound. Fullscreen (1.33:1). French and Spanish subtitles. English language subtitles for the hearing impaired.